The appearance of the light pillar instantly drew the attention of everyone within the Sky-Mending Secret Realm.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
In an instant, the sound of the air being torn apart echoed across the sky as countless streaks of light shot toward the direction of the pillar.
Boom!
A figure was the first to arrive at the site of the light pillar. As the light faded, it revealed a tall, burly man floating in midair, his bronze skin gleaming and muscles bulging.
The burly man wanted to enter, but the moment he got close to the light pillar, his steps halted. He had a strong premonition. If he went in now, he might not even leave behind a trace of his body.
“Keke, what’s wrong? Aren’t you going in, old brute?”
Another streak of light flew over, and from it stepped an elder in green robes, holding a bamboo scroll in his hand. His long white beard fluttered in the wind.
The burly man glanced at the green-robed elder and snorted coldly. “I’d like to go in too, but this light pillar… it’s not simple.”
The green-robed elder looked at the pillar as well. Indeed, the power within it made even his heart tremble.
“Keke, let’s wait a bit. This light pillar is weakening. I have a feeling it won’t be long before it dissipates.”
Just as the green-robed elder finished speaking, another streak of light flew in.
From it stepped out a graceful figure. It was Liu Shijing.
Seeing her, the green-robed elder smiled and said, “Greetings, Elder Liu.”
Liu Shijing gave a slight nod in response, acknowledging the greeting. As for the burly man, she merely gave him a glance.
The green-robed elder was from the Flowing Cloud Sect, which had friendly ties with the Yaochi Holy Land. The burly man, on the other hand, was from the Sky Stone Gate, whose relationship with the Yaochi Holy Land was rather lukewarm.
Before long, several more figures had gathered at the scene. Everyone stood at a distance, watching the light pillar and choosing to wait for it to dissipate.
Whoosh—
An icy-blue streak of light flew in, bringing with it a wave of chilling cold. Tiny ice crystals even began forming in the air.
The streak stopped beside Liu Shijing, and the surface of the lake below instantly froze over.
As the glow faded, two figures appeared. An icy, elegant woman and a delicate-looking young man.
Seeing Liu Xueyao, a smile appeared on Liu Shijing’s face. She completely ignored Chu Feng and waved warmly at Liu Xueyao.
“Xueyao, come over here to your Aunt.”
As Chu Feng’s foot touched the icy surface, the nauseating sensation churning in his stomach finally eased a bit. With only second-rank cultivation, he couldn’t quite handle moving at sixth-rank speed. Damn, it was way too fast.
Noticing Chu Feng’s discomfort, Liu Xueyao flicked her finger, sending a strand of true qi into his body. She then said, “Husband, let’s go.”
The moment the true qi entered his body, a wave of coolness washed over him. He felt much better.
“Mhmm, alright.”
Chu Feng followed behind Liu Xueyao and glanced at the surrounding crowd but couldn’t spot Eunuch Cao anywhere. For now, he decided to stick with this Saintess of the Yaochi Holy Land. He felt she didn’t intend to harm him.
Although the Yaochi Holy Land wasn’t exactly welcoming to men, at the moment, Chu Feng didn’t have much of a choice. So he could only go along with them for now.
Following Liu Xueyao, Chu Feng arrived at one of the spots closest to the light pillar.
The pillar radiated terrifying true qi fluctuations. Just looking at it gave him a feeling of pressure, and the surrounding space had begun to distort. Getting too close was clearly dangerous.
Several figures were already standing there, roughly divided into three groups, seemingly representing three different factions.
Other than the Yaochi Holy Land, Chu Feng didn’t recognize the other two.
Scanning the area, Chu Feng also didn’t see any disciples from the Heaven’s Pinnacle Sect. Had they not arrived yet?
Near the green-robed elder, Chu Feng did recognize one figure. He was dressed in red, with a handsome face. It was the young man who had recently come to Yaochi Holy Land looking for him.
The young man stood beside the green-robed elder, glaring at Chu Feng with a face full of rage.
Noticing Chu Feng beside Liu Xueyao, the green-robed elder showed a hint of surprise. Turning to Su Mo beside him, he asked,
“Holy Son, is that the boy you were talking about?”
“That’s right! It’s him!”
Su Mo clenched his fists tightly.
The green-robed elder didn’t say anything further. Since his sect’s Holy Son hadn’t been chosen by the girl, there was no way he could step in to vent on his behalf. After all, the Flowing Cloud Sect was one of the top forces in the cultivation world. They still had to maintain appearances.
Liu Xueyao stared at the light pillar, gently pressing her cherry lips together.
The timing had changed. Not only the opening of the Sky-Mending Secret Realm, but even the appearance of this treasure….it had all happened earlier than expected.
None of it matched what she remembered. In her previous life, this treasure had only appeared at the very end, not at the beginning.
This treasure was one of the core treasures of the Sky-Mending Secret Realm. Including the five other treasures previously discovered by powerful cultivators, this was the sixth….the Chaotic Qi within the Sky-Mending Stone.
Legend had it that this substance was born at the beginning of heaven and earth. During the so-called Era of the Immortals, it appeared frequently. But as that era faded away, not to mention Chaotic Qi….even Innate Purple Qi, which ranked just below it, had nearly disappeared without a trace.
In her previous life, the emergence of Chaotic Qi served as solid proof that the legendary Era of the Immortals might have truly existed….not just as myth.
***
Its appearance even alarmed those ancient beings who had been dormant for countless ages. Violating the rules they themselves had once agreed upon, they began preparing to forcibly enter the Sky-Mending Secret Realm.
But since the Chaotic Qi had appeared near the end of the Sky-Mending Secret Realm, by the time the old monsters arrived, the realm had already closed. No matter what divine powers they used, they couldn’t find the Sky-Mending Secret Realm again.
Chu Feng stared at the pillar of light, and the sense of being called grew stronger and stronger in his heart. It felt as though something inside was calling out to him.
Everyone waited in silence. No one knew how much time had passed when the pillar of light finally disappeared completely, revealing a large gate before their eyes.
To be precise, several pillars had appeared, forming a gate. Mist swirled within, completely blocking spiritual sense.
Suddenly, Chu Feng felt someone grab his hand. He turned his head to see Liu Xueyao beside him, holding his hand.
“Sister Saintess, what are you…?”
“Husband, like this… it’s safer.”
A serious expression appeared on Liu Xueyao’s delicate face. It was one of the rare times Chu Feng had seen her show any emotion. Normally, her face was expressionless. He still wasn’t sure whether her personality panel counted as “cool and aloof” or “emotionless”.
“Let’s go!”
Up ahead, Liu Shijing spoke.
The two opposing factions on the other side also began to move.
Chu Feng swallowed hard, then lifted his foot and stepped forward.
After passing through the mist, a mountain range appeared before Chu Feng’s eyes.
He truly hadn’t expected such scenery to be hidden inside.
“Husband.”
A voice rang softly in his ear.
Chu Feng looked around, but all the people who had been with him earlier had disappeared.
Now, only Liu Xueyao remained by his side.
Looking down at their joined hands, Chu Feng understood why Liu Xueyao had held his hand before entering.
So that was the reason. But… how had she known that entering this place would result in random teleportation?
On top of that, Chu Feng realized he couldn’t circulate the true qi within his body. No matter how hard he tried, it was useless.
“Husband, this way.”
Before Chu Feng could figure out what was going on, Liu Xueyao grabbed his hand and started walking in a determined direction.
Seeing how familiar and confident Liu Xueyao seemed, Chu Feng couldn’t help but ask, “Sister Saintess, have you been here before?”
Isn’t this secret realm supposed to open only once every three thousand years? This is the first time for both of us. So why are you so familiar with this place?
And besides, there’s not even a “Xiu” character in Liu Xueyao’s name.
(TN: I think that people with Xiu character in their name are secretly reincarnators in some stories.)
Chu Feng was utterly confused.
“Husband, just follow me.”
Liu Xueyao didn’t answer his question.
With no other choice, Chu Feng could only follow her.
And just like that, the treasure-hunting journey began.
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